I'll Be Your Castle
by Thebestbookiveread
Summary: Total AU. What if Kate and Rick had met in Kindergarten? What would their life be like as best friends in high school / college? Rated T because . . . I can. This is my language warning.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Let me tell you how nervous I am. Very. I am **_**beyond **_**nervous and don't feel I'll do this right. But wish me luck, PM/Comment any advice, scenes you may want to see, changes I need to make . . . Anyways. I have never **_**touched **_**AU with a ten foot pole, I've read it and scene a million different AU stories and this is a prompt/inspired 'I-need-to-just-get-this-out' thing. Um, no clue how long it will be and I – **

**Anyways. On to the story.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, I wouldn't have seen spoilers for 6x01, I would have **_**wrote **_**it. I don't own it.**

"_Ouch!" _Katherine Beckett shrieked as a boy a few months older than her slapped her. Little five-year-old Katie wasn't one to take a punch, but when it hurt this bad she couldn't even think of swinging back at the boy.

"Hey, leave your hands to yourself," another boy shouted, running over to Katherine. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Katherine reconized the boy as someone from her class, but he had to be a lot older than her. Maybe he was six – or seven, even! Katherine tried to speak up, _I'm fine, _she wanted to say, but she found her lip quivering and tears forming in her eyes.

"You can't make girls cry," the boy – who she knew as Richard (or Ricky, his friends called him), yelled at her assultant. He balled his hand into a fist, and punched him in the face. The other boy, Dylan, started crying for a teacher, but Richard knelt down by Katherine again.

"Katie, are you okay?" he asked, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders, drawing her head to his chest.

By now, her eyes were clear of tears, and although it still stung a little she manned through it. "Yeah, I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt anymore," she lied. "Thank you for punching Dylan for me, it was really nice of you."

"What can I say?" he shrugged, "I come from a place where it is _not _okay for boys to hit girls. My mom says that all women deserve to be treated with respect," by now the teacher was over, checking the wounds of Dylan before sending him to the nurse.

"Richard Rodgers! What is the meaning of this?" the teacher demanded. Richard winced, he was all to familiar with the screechy, angered voice of –

"Mrs. Johnson," he grinned, acting as though nothing happened, "How are you today?"

"Cut it out, Richard, what happened? Why am I sending Dylan Knight to the nurse's office?" she questioned.

"Well," he hesitated, "Um, I –"

"Do you really want me to hold you back, again, Richard?" she crossed her frail arms over her bony chest, using her right hand to push up her glasses.

"Actually, Mrs. J, Richard punched Dylan because Dylan hit me. Richard shouldn't be in trouble, Dylan should," Katherine intejected. "It's my fault, anyways, maybe I should be the one in trouble," _oh no, here come the water-works again._

"Katherine, I know you're a sweet girl, but Richard is in trouble right now, you don't need to lie to protect him," she cooed, although her voice came off as nails on a chalkboard.

"I'm not lying! Dylan hit me," she protested.

"Look, Mrs. Johnson, her cheek is red. You can't deny that she very well could have been hit – because she was! And that's why I hit Dylan, because boys who hit girls should be locked up somewhere terrible," he growled.

Mrs. Johnson looked from Richard, to Katherine, and back to Richard. "Fine, take this as a warning, Rodgers. I don't want to have you in my class next year, _again," _she emphasized.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a mock salute. She left them alone again – they're outside at reccess – and Richard looked at Katherine's face again.

"That looks bad, maybe you should go to the nurse, too," he said, rocking on his heels.

"No," Katherine said – a little too fast – standing up. "I'm alright, I promise – just no needles," she shook her head, gentle curls going everywhere. It was adorable.

"Does the great Katherine Beckett . . . maybe . . . have a _fear _of needles?" Richard teased, wagging his eyebrows.

She answered to fast, "No, nope. No fear," she lied. Richard gave her a knowing smirk and she hit his shoulder playfully, looking around to make sure no one was listening, "Don't tell anyone!" she stage-whispered. "Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I don't know," Richard teased with a wink, "I'm not very good at keeping promises, I'm probably going to tell the _whole_ _class_!"

"Please!" she shouted, grabbing his hand, horror painted over her features, "Please don't tell anyone! Please!"

He got a devious look of inspirtation as he twiddled his fingers, "What would you do for me if I didn't tell anyone?" he asked.

"I'll," Katherine paused, taking a minute to think it over. She didn't really have anything that he'd want. "I'll give you my big pack of crayons! It's the kind with a built in sharpener!" she was begging him now, and he had to try very hard not to laugh.

"That's not what I'm really looking for," he shook his head. He had grown out of the crayon phase – he was seven! He liked colored pencils.

"I'll do all your homework for the rest of time," she pleaded.

"Hmm," it was tempting. Really tempting. But that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted something better, much, _much _better. "Nope, not going to cut it," he shook his head. "Think harder."

She frowned, and although she looked like she was on the verge of crying she had a feeling Richard would never hurt her. That's when it hit her – the perfect thing she could offer him. "I got it," she thought aloud.

"Do you really?" he asked, a joking ring in his voice, "Because I don't know if you're smart enough to think of what I want this fast," he shrugged.

"No, I know I have it," she insisted. "If you don't tell anyone, I promise I will be your best friend."

His grin widened. "How did you know that's what I wanted?"

"Lucky guess," she rolled her eyes, "So if I promise to be your best friend, you promise you won't tell anyone about my –" she looked around again, and whispered, "Fear of needles?" she extended her hand, hoping for a deal.

"Katherine Beckett," he said, taking her hand, "You got yourself a new best friend."

**A/N: Um... Please review. Tell me your thoughts. Like it? Hate it? Advice?**

_**Next chapter, age jump. Warning.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: You guys are too nice! I hope I don't upset, haha. x_x**

**Special thanks to my Greekian, Anotherhumanbeing.**

**Disclaimer: **_**If only. . .**_

_Thirteen years later_

"._ . . and I hope one day maybe we'll cross paths again. Congratulations class of 1998!_" Kate finished, holding her arms eagle-spread, an amused smile spreading across her face, "What the hell was I thinking? That speech was terrible!"

Rick paused, scratching his jaw, "It was great, Katie, you have nothing to worry about," he said, wrapping her in a hug. She let out a laugh and tried to pull away but he wouldn't loosen his grip.

"Rick, I have a question," Kate started, and he paused to look at her, "Why after all these years do you still call me Katie, even though I call you Rick?" she pulled away to look him in the eyes.

He started laughing at her and she pouted, saying something that he made out to be, I'm not kidding! "I call you Katie because," he thought about it, "I don't know why. I still see you as the little girl who became my best friend in kindergarden," he shrugged, "If it bugs you, I can call you Kate."

"It doesn't bug me," she replied, "I'm just curious," she sat on the edge of her bed, they were at her house, packing to go to Stanford. They couldn't believe their luck – getting accepted into the same school, let alone Stanford.

"Don't worry, the speech was great. They picked you as valedictiorian for a reason," he smirked.

"Because their smartest student and best writer is a troublemaker," she shot back, he shrugged innocently. "I still can't believe you put a tarantula in Mr. Livingston's classroom," she shook her head disapprovingly.

"I still can't believe that a man that old can shirek that high, it's like a girl at a *NSYNC concert," he shuddered, remembering going to the concert with Kate a few months ago. That was another secret he kept for her, Katie is a big boy band fan, apparently.

"Yeah, we were probably the oldest people there. That wasn't my best idea," she cringed. They didn't go to concerts much anymore, but instead they'd see a lot of movies together. "We have to hurry, I have somewhere to go in a few minutes," she said, looking at her watch.

"You're leaving me to fend off your parents all by myself," he accused.

"No," Johanna Beckett said, appearing in the door frame, a grin spread her face and a look of pure horror spread across Kate's, "Katie's leaving you because she has a date!" she squealed.

"Katie is not going on a date," Jim Beckett, who had just walked into the room with a few empty boxes stated, "She's too young to date."

"Dad, I'm eighteen, besides, I've already dated," she rolled her eyes.

Rick was the one who got words in this time when he asked, "Do you have another date with that Sorenson kid? What's his name? Will?" he recalled.

"No, we broke up a while ago, keep up, old man," she smirked, "This time I'm going on a date with Tom, you know Tom Demming, right Rick?"

"Tall, dark hair, blue eyes?" he asked, she nodded. "Yeah, I know him. There's something off about him though," he pursed his lips,

"See, what if Rick's onto something. What if this boy is a serial killer or bank robber or something?" Jim tried to show the girls reason.

"Nonsense, Jim, I'm sure Katie knows how to spot a serial killer from a mile away. Besides, it's just one date," Johanna shrugged, "It is just a date, right Katie?" she pressed.

Kate's eyes bulged, "Yes mom! It's just a date! Guys, come on, again, I'm eighteen! I'm an adult now I can make my own choices," she shook her head, and the doorbell rang. "Shit, that's probably him," she said, running out of the room.

"Language," her parents reminded her at the same time. Rick muffled a laugh as the trio headed out to the main room to meet Tom Demming, officially.

"Hello, you must be Tom," Johanna said, kindly shaking the man in the foyer's hand. He grinned a thousand-watt smile and nodded.

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Beckett, you have a nice home," he said.

"I don't like him already," Jim whispered into Rick's ear, who faked a cough to cover his laughter, "Hi Tom, I'm Jim, Katie's dad," he said, extending his hand. Tom took Jim's hand with a look of worry as Jim said, "Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

By now, Rick was 'coughing' profusely, trying very hard not to laugh at Jim. Johanna shot Jim a warning look who shook her off, and just as they got into another room, Kate entered. "Oh my God, Tom's not with dad, is he?" she paniced.

Rick finally burst, laughter echoing through the room, "Rick," Johanna adomished, although she, herself was trying to hide a tiny grin, "Katie you should probably go save him before he shows your date his gun collection."

"Oh. My. God. Daaaad!" Kate shrieked, running towards the room where Jim was talking to Tom.

Rick and Johanna shared knowing looks, "There's no way Jim is right, is there? I really don't want this Tom fella hurting my little Katie," Johanna pleaded with Rick for an honest answer.

"Nawh, the worst that would happen is Katie would get arrested for breaking his nose if he tried anything she didn't like," he chuckled, "She's going to be fine, Johanna," he assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Mom," Kate hollered as she came into the living room, dragging an amused Tom Demming with her, "I'm leaving on my date, by the way – I grounded dad, he has to stay in his room for the rest of the night and think about what he did!"

With that, she was out the door.

"She can't really just ground Jim, can she?" Rick asked.

It was Jim, however, who answered with a holler, "With what she threatened me with? Yes, yes she can!"

**A/N: Kind of a filler chapter because I really wanted to bring up some familiar names – Tom, Will (in case you couldn't tell, I hate all of the boys who flirt with Beckett that are not Castle. Will, Tom, Josh, Brad Dekker, Mike Royce [me just like: eww, erm, too old], Eric Vaughn, Colin Hunt. . .) – and I really wanted to have Johanna and Jim in the story. So. Uh. Thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Erm.. .. embarrassing story time. So I'm read over my last two chapters to make sure that everything is how it should be, and I found a typo. Even though I have a pet peeve about grammar, I'm okay with a typo every now and then. But I said "scene" instead of "seen" ... in my **_**first **_**author's note. Sorry if that made anyone's OCD go crazy. I went psycho.**

**Um, I do answer questions, one of the questions was about something like "**_**is it even possible to fail kindergarten?" **_**... yes. No, there's no grades, but my friend failed kindergarten by getting in too much trouble. I don't know if they do that in the 21st century, but they did back in the 1900's. On with it;**

**Disclaimer: In the same way Stana's eyes are blue, I own Castle. Stana's eyes aren't blue, and I don't own Castle.**

"Wrench," Jim called out. Rick searched the toolbox, found the wrench, and handed it over. Jim was fixing Kate's Harley with a little bit of help from Rick, although Rick had no idea why. Jim _hated _when Kate got the bike.

Rick watched as Jim moved the tool over the motor, some piece near the wheel – he had no idea what Jim was doing, but whatever it was, it was fixing the bike, hopefully. "What exactly is wrong with the bike?" he asked.

Jim wiped his hand over his forehead, putting the wrench to the side. "Katie says it won't start. I'm hoping that if I fix it she might just stop holding the secret over my head," he chuckled. He looked around, and tried to start the bike, to no avail. "Screwdriver," he sighed.

Rick complied, holding up the screwdriver belt, and Jim picked out the one he needed. Rick watched as Jim went back to work on the bike. "What's Kate holding over your head?" he asked, the curiosity killing him.

Jim let out a small laugh, and rolled his eyes, "I'm not really sure _why _I let her hold it over me – it's not even that big of a secret," he paused, "But I found the secret spot Johanna hides all my Christmas presents at, I haven't told her."

"That's the big secret?" Johanna shouted, opening the garage door. "I knew Rick wouldn't be able to _not _ask you about it," she pointed her finger accusingly at Jim, "Why didn't you tell me? When was the last time you looked?"

"Erm," Jim pursed his lips, knowing he was in the dog house, "I," he scratched his head, but under Johanna's death glare, he was a puddle. "Okay, I looked two weeks ago," he confessed.

"Jim," she sighed, putting her face in her hand. She pursed her lips, "Good luck finding that stash again," and with that, she left.

"Oh no," Jim whispered, "she's plotting something. I mean something big. Typically she'd be yelling at me, and get frustrated, oh my gosh, what do you think she is planning, Rick?" he ranted, deciding now might be a good time to breathe.

"I have no idea," his eyes were wide, still in shock from Johanna's intrusion. He started laughing all of a sudden, the humor of the situation wearing onto him.

"It's not funny," Jim groaned. He tried to get the bike to start again, and the engine purred to life. He looked relieved, and Rick felt a smile grow on his face. "So, Rick," Jim started, Rick's head snapped up. "How 'bout a beer?"

"I dunno, I'm only twenty," Rick hesitated. Jim looked at him blankly, and Rick let out a shaky laugh, "Okay, okay, I'll take a beer, thank you."

"No problem," Jim grinned, "why don't you go take a seat on the fire escape, and I'll be out in a minute, okay?" he asked. Rick nodded and made his way to the fire escape, taking time to enjoy the scenery. The Beckett's apartment was a nice place that overlooked most of the city.

"Thanks," Rick said, taking a sip of the beer Jim handed him. Jim sat by him on the stairs, drinking his own beer as well.

"So," he said, catching Rick off guard. "When are you going to tell my Katie you like her?"

Rick did a spit take, beer flying off the edge of the fire escape. "Like – like her? I – I don't like Katie, she's like a little sister to me," he rolled his eyes, a small smile spreading on his face, "She's my best friend. Been that way since –"

"Kindergarten, I know," Jim nodded, "Sometimes feelings change. You guys are both older and going to the same college now so –"

"Look, Jim, I love Katie, but she's not – I'm not," he shook his head, "She's going on a date with Tom. I don't really think I'm her type," he laughed.

"Rick. Tom isn't going with Kate all the way to Stanford – you are. She has feelings for you, maybe you refuse to see it, but the rest of the world isn't oblivious," he grinned. Rick ducked his head, and thankfully was saved by the doorbell.

"I got it!" he screamed, maybe a bit too loud as Jim winced. He jumped into the building through the window opening, stumbling over the couch as he practically ran to the door. "Ouch!" he shrieked as he stubbed his toe.

He swung the door open, flicking his hair, trying to look cool. "Sup?" he said in an even voice.

"Rick Rodgers, what the Hell are you doing opening Kate's door?" her best friend, Lanie Parish, demanded. She strode through the door without invitation, and spun around to look at Rick. "Where's Kate?"

"She's on a date," he pursed his lips, and Lanie let out a high-pitched shriek.

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" she frowned.

"I don't know, Johanna was the only one she told – she didn't even tell me," Rick shrugged.

"She didn't tell me," Johanna said, showing up how she usually does – all random and mysteriously. "It's a mother's sixth sense to know if your daughter's going on a date," she chuckled. "Hello, Lanie."

"Good afternoon, Johanna," she smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, Jim," she called out to Jim, who was still on the fire escape.

There was a silence, and then you could hear talking out the door. Everyone looked slightly guilty as they intentionally listened in on Kate and Tom's conversation.

"_I had a really good night," _was recognized to be to be the voice of Kate Beckett.

"_I did too," _they could practically hear the smile in Tom's voice, "_Maybe we can go out again sometime?"_

"_I don't know, I'm moving to California next week," _there was a tinge of regret in her voice, and a silence that could have only been a kiss – hopefully, on the cheek. "_Goodnight."_

"_Night," _footsteps echoed and he left.

Kate walked in through the door, glaring at all the listeners in the room. She rolled her eyes at the stares and merely stated, "Eavesdroppers tend to die before those who don't."

**A/N: I seriously re-wrote that last line 1,000,000 times, and I still hate it. x_x forgive me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: All of your reviews are the sunshine of my life.**

**Thanks for all the support (: Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, I can honestly say I wouldn't have a Tumblr. I don't own Castle.**

Kate took her Stanford hoodie out of her suitcase, and glimpsed outside, knowing she'd never need to use it here. She sighed and threw it onto her bed, and went back to unpacking everything else.

The goodbye's weren't as hard as she thought they'd be; Jim and Johanna shared a simple 'See ya later' type of goodbye, her and Tom were never even close and they broke things off before she left, and her two best friends were going to the same college as her, anyways.

The door opened and Kate's head snapped up, no longer unpacking as she ran into the entry-way. Two blondes entered the room, one female juggling several luggages, one male holding merely a gym bag over his shoulder.

"Thanks for walking me to my dorm, Kevin," the woman smiled, kissing the male's cheek affectionately. She spun around and came face-to-face with Lanie and Kate, and she got startled, "Oh, you must be Lanie and Katherine. I'm your roommate, Jenny, this is my boyfriend Kevin Ryan."

"Hi Jenny, Hi Kevin, I'm Kate Beckett," Kate smiled warmly, shaking hands with both of them.

"I'm Lanie Parish, nice to meet you," Lanie hummed, following Kate's lead of shaking their hands.

Kevin was doing some awkward dance-thing – it appeared as though he was debating whether or not to leave. "Hey, I'm going to go check out my dorm, I will see you soon, babe, okay? I love you," he wrapped little Jenny in his arms.

"Love you, too, see you later," she looked reluctant to let him out of her arms, but they seperated and went their own ways. The door shut and Jenny seemed to snap back to reality. "Um, sorry. I should probably tell you guys about myself – but, uh, first, where is my room?"

"Over here," Lanie smiled warmly, escorting her to her room with Kate following at the tail. "I unfinished packing, any chance you need help?" she asked, intertwining her hands together.

"No, I'm good," she laughed, "Just going to unpack as I go," she shrugged. "So do either of you two have boyfriends here?"

Lanie and Kate shared looks before erupting into laughter, "No, no. We're friends from New York – best friends – and we came here with our other friend, Rick Rodgers," Kate pursed her lips.

"Rick Rodgers," she frowned, "That sounds familiar . . . Is his full name Richard Rodgers?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lanie answered, "How do you know Rick?"

"Um, I think he's one of Kevin's dorm-mates," she pressed her lips together, brow furrowing, "Yes, him and a guy named Javier Esposito," she nodded.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Rick showed up soon," Lanie sighed, rolling her eyes, "He is like a little puppy when it comes to Kate, he totally loves her," she informed Jenny matter-of-factly.

"No he doesn't," Kate interjected, blushing, "Rick is my best friend. He has been my friend since kindergarten. He kept a secret for me, and since then we've always had each other's backs," she shrugged. "It's Lanie, here, who is trying to hook us up."

"Girl, just admit you two would be so cute together," Lanie pressed, she turned back to Jenny, who looked a little overwhelmed, "Just you wait, he'll be here any second, you'll see how cute they are – you'll agree with me."

"Okay," Jenny laughed, throwing her hands up in surrender."I believe you."

Kate rolled her eyes and jumped at the knock at the door. Lanie burst out, cracking up, "I told you so, Katherine Beckett, if that's Rick you owe me so much."

"It's not –" she opened the door and winced, "Hi Rick."

"Hello Katie," he grinned, hugging her, oblivious to her 'She-told-me-so' attitude.

"Hi Rick," Lanie hollered, going back to whispering things with Jenny. They both looked a bit too cheeky for Kate's liking.

"Hey Lanie," he said, finally unwrapping his arms from Kate. "Hello, you are . . .?"

"I'm Jenny," Jenny grinned, taking Rick's hand, "I don't know if you caught him, but I'm Kevin Ryan – your dorm-mate's girlfriend," she was smiling widely, and Kate knew Lanie must have said something to make her face contort like that.

"How are you girl's liking the place so far?" he asked, rocking on his heels.

"Great, Jenny's really nice," Kate smiled, winking at Jenny.

"That's cool, Javi, Kevin, and I hit it off really well – I can already tell we're going to be good friends. But, I am planning on attending the school's welcoming shindig and came to ask you two lovely ladies to join me," he smiled.

"I'd love to, Rick," Kate smiled, "Is Javier coming with us, or . . .?"

"Yeah, I invited him to come with us," Rick nodded.

"Then count me in," Lanie grinned, looking at Kate with a look she couldn't quite read.

"Okay, I'm going to go hit the shower. We'll be here – oh, Jenny, Kevin's coming with us to pick you up – um, anyways, we'll be here at six, the hangout starts at six fifteen," he rambled.

"Okay, we'll see you guys then," Kate said, giving Rick one last hug before he left. She turned around and the girls were all hiding their laughter behind their hands, "What?" Kate blushed.

"Come on, Kate, he totally just asked you on a date," Lanie emphasized, rolling her eyes at Kate's incomprehension.

"What? No," Kate denied, "We're _best friends, _we do _everything _together. We're going to the same college, for goodness sake."

"It's so a date," Lanie insisted, a smile creeping on her face. "Fifty dollars says he tries to get you alone sometime throughout the night," she called, a little too loud for an indoor voice.

Kate slapped her hand to her forehead and allowed it to slowly travel down until it fell off her face and landed back by her side. "Lanie, even if we get alone – it's not a date."

"Jenny, care to put your two cents in the pot?" Lanie asked, spinning to face the girl.

"Um," she started laughing, "It is _so _a date," she said, and Kate growled, storming off to her room and slamming the door. Jenny and Lanie were left laughing, and Jenny was able to shout out the words, "I ship it!"

**A/N: I don't know if 'shipping' was a term in the 90's because my mom didn't have a clue what shipping was when I was all "OMG CASTLE'S ON," and she was all, "Who cares?", and I was all "I do I am a Caskett shipper forevaaa!" and she just said "WTF is a shipper?"**

**Lol sorry for my awkward-ness. I'd say that isn't how I talk but I kind of do. . . ... ... Thanks for reading – xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I do read **_**every **_**review, and I am grateful for **_**all **_**of them. Um, a lot of you are asking questions pertaining to some familiar faces we **_**haven't **_**seen yet; Josh *barf barf cough* (it's hard to **_**think **_**of the name, let alone write it), Meredith, Kyra – and no one asked about Maddie but . . . I love Maddie! Maddie and Jim are two of my favorite characters who **_**never **_**get screen time. I mean, Maddie was Kate's **_**bestie **_**and she gets one episode? WTF?**

**Anyways, yeah I'm throwing a lot of people in here because I feel Rick & Kate's past is what makes them such a good couple. Of course I'm totally re-writeing it, but I feel if there were never . . . people like Josh, then it would have been a bland show that lasts about one season that's all about sex.**

**Not that I have a thing against Caskett sex . . . **_**ANYWAYS!**_

**Disclaimer: One potato, two potato, three potato, four . . . that's all I own. I don't own Castle.**

"Knock-knock," Javi called out as Rick actually did the action. Kevin rolled his eyes at their new friend's behavior but found himself trying not to laugh. "Ladies, open up!" he said, a bit louder that time. Finally the door flew open, but no one was there.

That was when they saw Jenny – who had opened the door – fleeing to the back, where her room was. "Are you guys still not ready?" Kevin called out to her. She turned around, and put her hands on her hips.

"Kevin. Girls have to do makeup, pick a perfect outfit, and stare at themselves for a good hour to make sure they look good before going anywhere. Don't take that 'tude with me," she laughed dramatically, before running to her room, only to come back out seconds later with a pair of sneakers.

"Women," Rick sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I heard that Rick Rodgers, you're a dead man!" Lanie called, coming out into the room while trying to fasten an earring at the same time. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the third man – who must have been Javier. "Hi, I'm Lanie," she said, waving with her elbow as she was still working on that earring.

"Hey, I'm Javi. You must be Jenny," he said, waving at the blonde, "Where's Kate?"

"I'm here, I'm here," she sighed, running in and quickly turning around, "Forgot my purse!"

"You don't need a purse I'm paying for anything you get," Rick insisted, rolling his eyes before muttering to the guys again, "Women!"

"I heard that!" the three ladies called. Rick's eyes widened and he nodded his head as if he were about to screech it in fear. "Besides, Rick, you never tell a woman not to bring her purse. Her purse is her lifeline," Lanie winked.

"Let's get this show on the road, we have like – a twenty minute drive before we hit the fair. We don't need it to close before we get there," Kevin sighed. A shoe was thrown at him and he ducked, the shoe barely missing him.

Kate joined the group and they seemed ready to go. The girls had their purses, their keys, and some 'back-up' money. They headed to Javi's van and took seats, buckled up, and off they went. Apparently Javier was from the area, so he knew it really well.

"So why is a school party at a fair?" Jenny spoke up. No one had really known about the fair except Rick and Kevin, who wanted to go in the first place. Rick and Kevin exchanged silent looks and Kevin decided to answer.

"Well, two schools are going, ours and San Fransico State University, it's kind of like a fued thing between us, and it's kind of a meet and greet thing," he rambled, "Well. It's a fair. The point is to have fun," he shrugged.

"Should we have worn Stanford gear?" Lanie panicked.

"No," Rick answered, "No one's going to be wearing that except people looking for a fight," he chuckled, "Happens every year. Kids from each college roughed up for being a bit too spirited," he shuddered. "That's why we're not dressing up. If anyone asks, we are from Stanford, but we just don't need to announce it."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want any of these pretty faces screwed up, now would we?" Javi said, sending a glance Lanie's way. Kate saw it and there was no _way _she was going to live it down once they got back to the dorm.

_If Lanie even makes it back to the dorm tonight, _Kate thought, and couldn't help having to muffle her chuckle. Rick raised an eyebrow, turning to her as they had a silent conversation that ended with a 'I'll-tell-you-later,' look.

The car was slowing into the traffic, cheerleaders from both schools flanking the road leading into the parking lot. Cheers were mixed and hoots-and-hollers were spread around, the sounds making their way inside the large van.

"We're here," Javi announced as they parked, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out. Everyone slowly made their way out and looked up excitedly at the fair. "Let's get in," he smiled, leading the way to the ticket booth.

"Any of you Stanford or San Fran students?" the guy asked. He was wearing a blue polo and his hair was jet black, cut short to his skull. His nametag read _Jason. _He was probably in his early twenties, and had a thousand-watt smile.

"We're all Stanford students," he informed him.

"Okay, and any of you former or present military, by chance?" Jason asked.

Javi pursed his lips, and looked at his friends who didn't know. "Um," he paused, "Yeah, I'm currently enrolled. Just got back from Iraq," he said, pursing his lips.

"Thanks for serving our country, you and your party get in for free," he gave a small salute that Esposito returned. "Have a good day."

"You too," he winced, knowing everyone was staring at him in curiosity. They followed him in, though, and that's when the questioning began.

_Why didn't you tell us you served in Iraq? When are you going back? Are you going back to Iraq? You're still in the military?_

"Yes, to most of it. I'm going back to Iraq in about a month, I'm taking the classes mainly online, and sometimes come to the campus," he pursed his lips, "Sorry I didn't tell you guys, it's just typically not the first thing I tell people."

"Well thanks for sharing with us, Javi," Lanie said, taking his hand in hers. "Oh look!" she squealed. "A ferris wheel! Let's go!"

**A/N: Okay so erm I had to. I just had to. It was a requirement. Anyways, (I say that word a lot, I'm sorry! I honestly say in 24/7 in real life, I ramble... like I am now...), thanks for all your reviews on "shipping" and I love some of your stories about it. Haha, my mom is catching on and she's just like "I'm a total Caskett shipper." (I'm telling you, I'm biased, but it's so cute. She's handicapped and she's 47 [OMFG IKR] and she is like a teenage girl.) Anyways again, going to go watch 6x02 AGAIN, but for the first time with her 3**

**Reviews are loved :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hiii. How's your day been? :3 *listens about all your drama going at home and watches the tears fill your eyes* *hugs* It's okay, I'm here for you. But really – if any of you need to rant to me on Kik my Kik is 5GuysSexyEyes . . . I'm a One Direction fan. Durr.**

**Okay, I've read the reviews –not a single mean one so far :D ! Still waiting for "**_**Eww, just stick to your 1D fanfics creeper fangirl." **_**... But you guys are really great! Erm, I had something to say . .. Erm. I forgot. 0.0**

**Disclaimer: If you ever see an episode of Castle that's just 42 minutes of the cast twerking, then I probably became the owner of Castle. Until then . . . *sigh***

"We're really high up," Kate shuddered, eyes widening. She looked over the edge of the top of the ferris wheel, watching as people from both colleges got into the cart opposite of them. "I'm almost scared," she admitted.

"Need me to hold your hand, Katie?" Rick winked, extending his hand palm-up towards her. She looked at it, and took it, curling into his side. He felt a shudder run through her body and started to worry. "You cold?"

"Nawh, it's a lot warmer than New York's finer days here," she shook her head, "I don't know why I'm shaking – it's probably just the gravitational pull or something."

"Or you're scared," he murmured, earning a death glare from Kate. Seriously, if looks could kill, he'd be in a cemetary right now. He let out a soft chuckle, and finally the wheel started moving without stopping to pick up new passengers.

"This is fun," she hummed, the wind whipping her hair everywhere. "Think we can convince the gang to hit up a rollercoaster next?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I know Jenny said something about 'Kicking Kevin's ass at some arcade games,'" he ran a hand through his hair, "I am more of a carnival game guy, who knows, maybe I'll win you a prize," he grinned.

She gave a small smile, "I still have the small stuffed monkey you won me from our first trip to the pier's carnival," she paused, "Actually, I brought it here with me, somewhere in one of my bags," she rambled on under her breath.

"Oh," he remembered, "Lanie wouldn't ride a rollercoaster, you know she _hates _riding them! She'd probably throw a fit before even getting _in _the cart," he shuddered, remembering the last time they tried to get Lanie Parish to ride a rollercoaster with them.

"Yeah," she winced, "We can shove her off with Javi," she chuckled, and Rick joined her. The ride was slowing down and started allowing passengers before them to get out of their carts. They got their turn and Rick helped Kate out.

"Hey guys," Rick greeted as they caught up with the other four. "Are we all parting ways now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Javier nodded, the rest of the group nodding with him, "Um, Lanie and I are headed to the other rides, we can all meet for dinner around seven thirty at the food court area?" he said, but it was more of a question.

"Sounds like a plan," Kevin agreed.

"That's good," Rick looked down at their wrists, to make sure they even had watches. "See you guys later, then," the group broke up and Rick locked arms with Kate, "So, girlfriend, what're we gonna do?" he said in a girly voice.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said, "But you should _never _say that again," they enjoyed a laugh together again, "But seriously. Where's the roller coasters?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "Let's go find a map – I think I saw one near the enterance," he suggested. They started walking to the map, arms still linked, and read the map. "Clear on the other side of the park," he whined.

"That explains why we can't hear or see them. It is a large park," she nodded, "Let's go," she said. "Race you?"

"What? I'm old! That's no fair! You're not really gonna make a twenty year elderly man like me run that far, are you?" he teased.

"Well it's a good thing you're in such great shape," she said, giving him a blatant once-over, "Let's go!" she squealed, unlinking arms and taking off. Thankfully, his acceleration was quicker than hers, and he took the lead.

"I'm going to beat you!" he called back. Unfortunately, Kate's speed was slightly faster than him, her agile eighteen-year-old self taking the lead and she got in front of him just as they reached the coaster. "Fuck you."

"Richard Rodgers! At least buy me dinner first," she said in a prissy voice, dramatically throwing an arm over her forehead. "Ouch! That looked like it hurt," she hid her head in his shoulder, lamely pointing to a duo who had started getting a little rough.

"I'm going to go break that up," he told her, gently pushing her away as he ran over, "Guys! Break it up!" he called out, putting himself in between the men. That wasn't a good idea, he took a hook to the jaw and a kick in the shin, which made him hunch over and get kneed in the gut. "Guys," his voice broke.

"For Stanford!" the taller, more broader one shouted as he punched the other guy.

"San Fran's better!" the other one screamed, head-butting the other one.

"Guys, both the schools are great," Rick interjected.

"Who asked you?" they said at the same time, not breaking their fight. Rick got in the middle again, taking a few more punches than he could handle, and he wheezed to the ground.

"What the Hell? Rick!" Javier shouted, coming in to break up the fight. He knocked both of the fighters to the ground and extended his hand to Rick, "Come on, up you go," he muttered as he yanked him up, "You alright?"

"Erm," he muttered as he put a hand to his face, "_Shit," _he groaned as he saw the blood that must have been coming from his nose, "I might need a tissue or two," he spit and some blood came out.

"Look, scram you two," Javi was telling the two knuckleheads whom had drawn quite the crowd, "I was just getting off the rollercoaster with Lanie –"

Rick took his hand off his face, and blinked from him, to Lanie, and back to him. "You got Lanie Parish to ride a rollercoaster?"

**A/N: Wish I remembered what I was going to say. Hmm. Whatever. Whatchya think?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I have a lava lamp in my room now ^-^ It was my sister's and hasn't been used for seven years, but it's green and it's working – my favorite color is green – and OMG I have wanted one for so long and –**

**Well. I'm 14. I'm not exactly a '90's' kid, but I was born in '99 so . . . :P (P.S. If you're looking for a great song to listen to – Ho Ho Hopefully by The Maine – It's perfect.)**

"Oh my God, Rick, are you okay? I might think it was funny if you weren't bleeding," Kate stammered into one sentence, pressing a hankerchief a kind stranger had given her. "What the Hell were you thinking? Someone else could have broke that up."

"But if no one did?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting together, "Someone could have died, Katie, I'd feel insanely responsible for that."

"Responsible for two idiots you don't know?" she rolled her eyes at him, and turned to Javier, "Thanks, Javi, for protecting Rick. He can kind of be a dumb-ass sometimes," she sighed and looked back to Rick, "Even if what you did was for a good cause."

"Erm, now, I'm no expert, but I think I might have broke my nose," he said, wiggling the muscles in his face, causing him to wince – which only produced more pain in his face. "Ouch," he groaned. "Definitely broke something."

"Is the bleeding still going on?" Javi asked. Kate pulled the hankerchief from Rick's face, and they noted that it was no longer bleeding. "Okay, Rick, sit still – this may hurt a little, but it's something I picked up on the field."

"Oh my, you're not going to twist my nose – ouch!" he squeaked as Javier snapped his nose back into place. He tried wiggling it and took a deep breath, "It's better now, thank you."

"Anytime," he said, "We still have time before dinner, so – take Kate on a coaster – and just, don't get into trouble again, okay?"

"Wait, one more thing," Rick stopped him. Javi turned around, eyebrow raised in silent question. "How the hell did you get Lanie Parish to ride a rollercoaster?"

Javi laughed, pursing his lips. He leaned in closer to Rick, near his ear just to the point where Kate could only hear the whispering sound effects. They broke apart and Rick was shaking his head, holding back a smile, "Damn, of course she would if you say things like _that._"

"Exactly. Anyways, I'm going to go now," he said, looking from Kate to Rick, "You two have fun, now. Just remember we're meeting up soon."

With that, he left with Lanie on his arm. Kate quickly slid onto the picnic table bench Rick was on, and started probbing parts of his face. "My God, Rick, you're going to have one bruised face after this," she shook her head in disapproval.

"I'm still pretty, right?" he batted his eye lashes at her.

She rolled her eyes at his antics, and pressed gently on a spot near his temple. "Does it hurt when I do this?"

"Insanely," he hummed through the pain, "But you're you, so you can keep touching my face if you have a thing for seeing me in pain."

"This is not the kind of agony I want to see you in," she said, and they both gave shocked looks from her unfiltered thoughts that had just been shared. "Um," she tried to shake her words off and resume normal behavior, "Let's go to the nurse and get you checked out."

He looked as if he was about to say '_No,' _but after the hard-core death glare Kate gave him, he nodded, and whispered a, "As you wish, Katie-Bug." They were walking, and once they were outside the door, she asked him a question that was eating at her.

"Why Katie-_Bug_?"

He nearly choked on his laughter, and she looked a little surprised, "Sorry," he got out, "It's just that's funny! I –I don't know. It's just something people say with names sometimes. I'm not sure _bug _fits you, you're more of an adult monkey. You look cute and cuddly on the outside, but if anyone makes you mad or something, you hand out some bodily harm."

"Nice simile, there, Rick. Maybe you should be a writer one day," she laughed and they walked into the nurse's office.

"Maybe I will," he grunted to her, "Hi, I'm Rick. I'm not too sure why I'm here, but if I need to be bandaged then I'd rather be safe then sorry."

"Hello, I'm Nurse Meredith, nice to meet you two. Yes, I think I have some bandages right here," she said, getting on her toes to reach up into a cabinet. Her red 'Medic' shirt rid up her waist, revealing a tattoo above her hip that read '_Sexy and I know it'._

Kate bit down on her lip as to not laugh aloud, but she caught Rick checking her out. They had a slight arguement with their eyes when the red-head fell back to her heels, unwrapping several bandages before applying them to previously bleeding areas.

"Sometimes boyfriends do the dumbest things," Nurse Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend," Kate interjected.

"Really? You two seem like such a couple," she pursed her lips, "Okay. You're good to go Rick," she said, and grabbed a card. "Here's my contact – call me if the cuts start bleeding profusely, or – just call me and we can hang out or something."

Rick smiled and took the card, before practically dragging a stunned Katherine Beckett out of the room. "Did that really just happen?" she asked, and realized he hadn't heard her – it was too much of a breathy-whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Did that really just happen?"

"I know right," he grinned like a fool, holding the card up in the air. "I just got a girl's number for taking a punch to the face!"

**A/N: So. Erm. Dat Meredith, though. Nope. Don't like her. Had to write her in though. And it might sound conceded, but I actually have a line I'm **_**proud of **_**in here – "Maybe you should be a writer someday." – It was inevitable. I saw my shot as soon as I said the word 'Simile' and I took it.**

**So, uh. Thoughts? :3**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: OMG TWO UPDATES IN ONE NIGHT! WOOHOO! Lol, I literally spent less than an hour on the previous chapter – it was kinda crappy, so here's this :D**

**Disclaimer: I am cuddling with a stuffed Pikachu. I don't own Castle.**

"So she really just gave you her number?" Javi scoffed, amazed and impressed with Rick's story. He nodded and all Javier could muster was a "Da-ha-ham!"

"Really, Rick. She just – handed you the card. All flirtatious and totally coming on to you – and she's a nurse?" Kevin questioned.

"Yes!" he repeated, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender. You guys are impossible. All she did was imply that Kate and I were dating , and when Kate corrected her, she gave me her card, and told me to call her."

"Maybe I should have just let her think we were dating, after all, I don't see how that's her buisness," Kate rolled her eyes, turning to Lanie and Jenny as they talked a bit about somethi ng that happened recently that was 'amazing'.

"What are you ladies talking about?" Rick asked, making all three of their heads turn towards him.

It was Ryan, however, who answered. "About that new 'search engine' that was just released. What's it called? Google?" he laughed, "If that's not the dumbest thing I've heard – I doubt they will stay in buisness long."

"A search engine?" Javi asked, "What's that supposed to do?"

"It's something on the internet where you type a topic in a little bar, and then results come up using the keywords you typed," Ryan shrugged, "For example, I bet the first time Jenny sees Google, she'll be Google'ing 'Backstreet Boys'," he rolled his eyes.

"Ryan! It's not 'Backstreet Boys'! I like New Kids on the Block!" she sighed dramatically, slapping her hand to her face. "Men can never seem to tell boy bands apart from one another."

"So you're a N-K-O-T-B fan, eh?" Lanie asked, "Katie is a _huge _*NSYNC fan," she announced, then got hit lightly in the ribs by Kate.

"That's a secret," she muttered. "I will be the first to say you should never go to a boy band concert. Ever."

"It can't be that bad," Javi shrugged, gaining suspicous looks from everyone at the table. "Er, that is, if the music was bareable. But it's not. So. That's that. Um, what do you guys want to eat?"

"What do they have?" Rick asked.

"Simple fair food. Burger. Fries. Corn dog. A million snacks with weird names," he looked around at the table, "Any objections that I just get everyone a burger-fry-beverage meal?" there was no disagreement until he asked, "What would you all like to drink?"

Kate, Lanie, and Jenny all wanted a lemonade. Rick wanted a coke, Kevin wanted a Dr. Pepper, and that left him being the only one to want a Mr. Pibb. "Anyone care to help me carry stuff?" he asked the group.

"I'll go with you," Kevin hummed, standing up. The guys left leaving Rick alone with three chatty Cathy's.

They were just going at it. Rapid fire of conversation – he was lucky to catch a word of what they were saying. He got so confused and quite frankly, terrified, he leaned in, resting his elbows on the table and head on his hands and said loudly, "So how 'bout that Justin Timberlake?"

They all glared at them, when Kate answered, "He's cute. But he's young. Under-age. Little. Can't even drink in the United Kingdom yet."

"Speaking of not being able to drink yet, does your dad just let everyone had a beer? He totally practically forced me to have one the night you went on a date with Tom," he thought aloud.

"My dad let you drink beer?" she asked. He nodded. "His beer?" he nodded again. "No. See, he only let you do that because how long we've been friends. He is not a man to share his beer."

"In my defense, he asked me a question that he probably doesn't ask any guy either," he muttered.

But Kate heard him. "What did he ask you?"

"Nothing," Rick replied, instantly.

"He told me, and believe me, you don't want to know, Kate," Lanie assured her. Kate's stature slowly went from ram-rod straight to a slight slouch.

"Fine. If you say so," she sulked.

There was a moment. One moment of utter silence before they decided he was part of their chat party now. He could barely hear the questions they hurtled at him. "_Are you really going to call Meredith back?" "Do you think Meredith is hot?" "Are you and Meredith going to – like – date now?"_

He wasn't sure who asked what, and before he could answer, more questions were being thrown at him. His head was spinning and he swore he was going to pass out when Kevin and Javi entered the picture carrying a lot of food and drinks. "Orders up," Javi announced.

They passed out food and it was good. Kind of like fair food is. It tasted great, but you certainly felt guilty as you could literally feel the grease from your fries rubbing onto your hands. "That's it I'm going for a long jog in the morning," Jenny spoke up.

"Samehere," Kate shuddered.

"Count me in," Lanie added.

"Can I come?" Rick asked. They had a silent agreement that he could come and that nodded.

Then there was a ring – it was slightly muffled and it sounded a bit like a telephone. All but one of the members of the group jumped, and the one who didn't pulled something out of his pocket, "Hello?" Javi said.

"Oh my God you have a Nokia!" Rick shrieked like a girl. Javier glared at him to silence him, and Rick calmed down. "He's so lucky – I've been trying to convince mother to get me one for forever!"

Javier finished talking to the person on the cell phone and hung up. Everyone looked at him, excited and expectant. "Not that lucky," Javi disagreed, "I just got called into the field again."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Oh, I forgot to say on the last chapter – I actually did put in some research for the last chapter. I was looking into September '98 and cell phones because I wasn't alive at this time :3 If I mess stuff up for the timeframe and you were **_**alive **_**at the time, feel free to correct me.**

**Erm. Uh. *can't think of something else to add* I . . . Um. Dat reveal on the last chapter though. OH! I feel like I'm gonna slip and start putting last names instead of first names – warning! I am trying, though.**

**Disclaimer: I have been to ten of the fifty states – and not one of them is New York. If I owned Castle, I would have been to New York a million times.**

Their faces were stark pale with shock – even Javier seemed surprised. "What do you mean? When are you leaving? Can they even just _do _that?" Lanie shot at him in one breath.

He pursed his lips, glanced at the phone in his hands, and looked to the group. "My flight to Iraq leaves tomorrow at noon," he sighed, slipping the phone into his pocket. The group became even _more _astonished with that.

"Well, let's make the most of it," Kevin suggested, "Let's hit up a bar!"

Rick faked a cough, "Irish people," and another cough. "Kevin, you're forgetting – we're underage. We can't get into a bar," there was a murmur of upset that went through them, and he smiled, "But, I was invited to a party in a house by campus, bet they got booze."

Jenny and Kate were grinning, and Kate shouted "Let's go!"

. . .

"Rick Rodgers! Glad you could make it!" the one who invited him – Tony, he thinks – greeted them. "And I see you brought some friends! That's great, the more the merrier!" he shouted over the house-shaking music.

It wasn't an ordinary house, it was huge. Not exactly a manison, but close enough. The house was covered in young adults, dancing, talking, drinking. Of course Rick's assumption was right, and the gang spotted the open bar immediately.

Everyone broke ways back into their earlier duos – Jenny and Kevin rocking the dance floor, Lanie and Javi getting a bit too frisky in the corner, and Kate and Rick found themselves by the bar, Kate's face a look of worry.

"What's wrong Kate, can't hold your alcohol?" Rick asked, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Er," she looked down at the tequila the bartender gave them – as per Rick's request, "It's just, I, uh," she couldn't find the words to say, and found herself blushing, looking at the ground, "I've never drank before."

Rick let out a soft chuckle, and she glared at him, "Sorry, sorry, it's just – are you serious? Come on, Kate, you were a total wild child! You got the grunge-rocker boyfriend, the bike, and most recently, the tattoo on your eighteenth birthday, which, by the way, I still don't know where and what it is."

"And it's going to stay that way," she answered immediately, a look of horror flooding her features, "But, no, I never have drank before," she hummed, "But I guess for my first time . . . I'm glad I'm doing it with you."

With that, she lifted the shot glass of the counter, threw her head back, and swallowed, wincing. She scrunched her nose up and he chuckled, knowing how bad his first shot burned. "Well?" he pressed, gulping down his own shot.

"It burns," she muttered, "And I don't really feel any different," she shrugged.

"That's because you've had one shot. A few more of those and you'll be wondering where your clothes went," he said, then thought that through, "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't drink in such a public area for your first time."

"Nuh-uh-uh, Ricky, you don't get to pull me out of this rabbit hole," she said, pouring herself another shot before taking that one down. "This is fun," she hummed, already working on her third.

"Katie, you're gonna be dead drunk in a minute," he warned, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off, and he spun to a tap on his shoulder. "Javi, Lanie, what's up?" he asked.

"We're, um, getting out of here," Javier said, then leaned in to mutter – as quietly as he could to still be heard over the music, "Think you could hang out with Kate for the night?" he said. Rick grew a devious smile and nodded.

"You two kids have fun now!" he shouted, and they stumbled out the door together. "Kate, how are you – oh my God!" he shouted, putting a hand on her back. She was currently flirting with some guy he already didn't like. "Katie, let's get you home. How many did you have when I wasn't looking?"

"I – I'm not sure," she shrugged, her hand grabbing the neck line of the man's shirt, "Rick this is," she thought really hard, "Um, Josh, right?" she slurred, obviously drunk. "Josh Derrickson?"

"Davidson," he corrected, helping her sit up straight, "You alright?"

"No she's not alright, dumbass, she's drunk," Rick rolled his eyes at Josh, and the barman signaled him over. "Excuse me, Katie, you stay here, okay?" he demanded before walking down the bar to the bartender.

"I think your friend there has had about seven shots total. I'm no expert but with her body – she's going to be out really soon," he bit his lip, "Erm, she's kind of, um," he motioned to Josh and her, who were now dancing – a tangle of limbs touching places that shouldn't be touched. "But it's none of my buisness."

"Shit," Rick groaned, walking through the crowd to get to them. "Kate," he shouted, "Katherine," he

"No," she insisted, moving away from Josh, crossing her arms. "I'm a big girl, Rick, I can go where ever I want," she gave him a look of stone, and he lifted her off the ground, slinging her over his shoulder."Rick, put me down!"

It came off as more of a chuckle, but he didn't listen, intent on getting to the door. "No, Katie. You need to go home before you do something stupid. Can you walk?" he asked. She nodded. "Will you walk to your dorm with me?"

"Why Rick?" she said, putting an emphasis on the 'ck' in his name. "You wanna sleep with me, don't you?" she hummed, and he dropped her onto her feet, a look of shock on his face. "Why? Go sleep with that Meredith chick," she sighed.

"What? Are you jealous of _Meredith? _The nurse we _just met_?" he groaned, she nodded again. "Kate, let's – let's just go. We can discuss this when you're thinking straight."

"I am," she insisted, keeping up with his quick pace – barely. She fell over her feet, laying in the grass.

"Katie!" he squeaked, jumping to the ground, "Are you alright?" he asked. There was no response. He sighed in disapproval, and scooped her into his arms. "Come on, Katie," he paused, then added, "You are going to have one hell of a hangover when this is over."

**A/N: I . . . I don't know. I'm pressured to finish this one fast cuz' my friend wants me to go outside. Um, I have a four-day-weekend so that means expect updates! Whatchya think?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Under some heavy consideration and some comments I have got from other authors/readers *coughs* **_**Anotherhumanbeing **_***coughs* I've decided. . . **_**not **_**to include any more Meredith, thus having no Alexis in this story.**

**I'm so so so sorry for not updating! I . . . have no excuse. Friends were over and they don't like it when I'm writing. (For Castle, but when I write for 1D they seem to have no problem . . .*eyeroll*)**

**Disclaimer: If I buy the Nikki Heat books (you don't have em already? HA! NEWWWB!) then am I helping pay for Castle? Imma best be getting them for Christmas. #Broke**

Kate let out a content sigh. She was warm – not resting fully on any flat surfaces or a bed or something, and she was shifting a lot. She must have been getting carried. She stretched in a cat-like fashion and wrapped her arms around the carrier as they tried to open a door.

"Katie? Are you awake?" a gruff voice asked. She nodded into the man's shoulder and inhailed, the familiar scent not strong enough for her hazy mind to think of who it was. "Let's get you onto the couch here," he sighed, trying to set her on the couch near the enterance.

"Mmf, don't let me go, I don't wanna go back to sleep yet, just hold me a little longer, I promise, I'll make it worth your while, just don't let me go," she slurred together, her weak cling going strong around his neck.

"Katie, come on, I need a break. I've carried you several blocks already," he tried setting her down again, but she pulled him with her, "Ouch!" he heaved, flipping them so he was now under Kate, and she was spread along the couch.

Kate batted her eyelashes open slowly, flinching as she recognized the man who was helping her out as Rick, and that she was in her new dorm. "Where's Lanie and Jenny?" she asked, nodding her head back to sleep.

"Lanie is at my dorm with Javier, and Jenny is with Kevin at the party still. I think they said something about dancing for a while," Rick hummed, "How are you doing? Is your head throbbing? What about your body? You kind of just collapsed earlier."

"Still hurts to think," she stammered, curling her arms back around Rick's neck, using that to pull herself up. "Still dizzy," she moaned, resting her head in the crook of his neck. She yawned and closed her eyes tightly.

"Do you want to go to your bed?" he asked, "I could carry you."

"No, I wanna sleep here, with you," she murmured in a sing-song voice, "Wait, you're not leavin' me are ya? Please don't leave me Rick I want ya to stay, please, Rick, please?" she was rambling her pleas, slightly muffled by his shoulder.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay," he assured her, running a hand through her hair, "Just go to sleep," he sighed, "I swear – you don't get how bad the thunderous pain in your head is going to be – it is worse than getting hit by a bus," he chuckled softly.

"Shh," she hummed, lazily pressing her forefinger on his lip. "Shh, be quite, no more talking. Let's sleep together Ricky," she said, pulling him closer, until she realized what she just said, before adding in a whisper, "Not like that."

His lips were pursed, and he kept stroking her hair until he felt her breathing return to an even pace. He let out a small sigh of relief and carefully slid her off of him until she was resting peacefully on the couch, her head propped up on the arm of the couch.

The door creaked open, and Jenny tip-toed in, slowly turning the knob and shutting the door, watching it as if to make sure it wouldn't be loud. She carefully spun around and jumped when she saw Rick, his arms folded across his chest, amused. "Shit! You scared me!" Jenny stage-whispered.

"I didn't take you for the type of girl to swear," he smirked, opening the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice.

"Really?" she asked, crossing her own arms, "I didn't take you for the type of guy to have sex with his best friend," she shot back, making Rick choke on the orange juice he was now freely swigging from the cartoon.

He took a minute to cough and sputter, panting, "Excuse me?" he questioned. She gave him a knowing look, "I didn't sleep with Katie!" he pressed, pointing his finger to the figure who lied motionless on the couch, "She's out drunk, anyways."

"Mhm, sure, don't tell me you didn't even kiss her though," she said, already on her way to her room, snapping the door shut.

"I didn't!" he hollered as quietly as he could muster before returning to the couch. "Katherine Beckett, what am I going to do with you?" he cringed, feeling the pain of her hangover before she would. He carefully tucked his left arm under her neck, and his right under the back of her knees, and lifted her back into his arms. "Let's get you to bed."

She was snoring now – a soft, gentle sound – almost like a purr. She continued to make the noise until he put her on the bed, and she startled awake. "Ricky? Ricky, what the Hell are you doing in my room?" she gasped, "Did we have sex?"

"No!" he quickly replied, eyes gone wide with shock.

He was right. She felt the clothes clinging to her body. "No," she repeated. Her face was confused, her brow furrowed, making a little square between her eyebrows, "No what, again?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged, "I'm going to go out in the living room now, and crash on your couch, okay?" he warned, walking away.

It took a minute for his words to sink in, "Wait, Rick," she stopped him, saying it as if she were five years old again – trying to whisper, but utterly failing, "Come back, come back to bed. Come here and lie down,"she told him.

He made no effort to move, until her eyes formed a glare and he removed his shoes in surrender, making his way to her bedside. He lied down on the side she wasn't on, but she wasn't having that and she rolled over, wrapping her arm tightly around his abdomen, "Cuddle me."

He obeyed, sliding his arms around her waist, tugging her into the safety of his chest. "Ricky, do you love me?" she hummed.

"'Course I do," he whispered into her hair.

"Say it," she insisted, poking her finger gently into his chest, "Tell me you love me."

"I love you, Katherine Houghton Beckett," he assured her.

"Mm, love you, too," she sighed, pressing a sloppy, lazy kiss to his lips.

**A/N: They did it. Not me. It was all them. *Points at Caskett* Anyways, leave me a line, sorry again for not updating, and I'll try to update tomorrow!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Really sad, at the moment so you guys get some heavy angst! Kidding! Hehehe, but I am sad . . . *lesigh* Anyways. That's my excuse in case this chapter is kinda crappy. So, um, here. Take the cake. *Pushes fanfic to reader***

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, every time Beckett walked into the room, you'd faintly hear 'Sexy and I Know It' start to play.**

Rick's body froze – rigid. He gently shoved Kate's lips from his and she groaned. "What the Hell, Ricky, I was enjoying myself there," she tried kissing him again, but he pulled away again.

"Katie, you don't want to do this," he tried convincing her.

"Of course I do," she told him – he could _hear _the eye roll in her statement, she again reached her lips up towards his, but he scrambled and ended up falling off the bed – dragging her down with him. "Ouch," she giggled.

"K-Kate, I need to go. I should leave you alone," he squeaked, practically being chased around the small room by Kate's miniature figure. "Kate. You're drunk," he told her, she shook her head, "Yes, you are drunk."

"Not _that _drunk," she argued, "I'm not drunk enough to regret doing this," she whispered seductively, leaning into his bigger frame, but he ducked down – narrowly avoiding her. "Rick!" she groaned.

"Oh – oh yeah?" he squealed, he coughed to try and make his voice more smooth, "Walk in a straight line, then. If you can do that, I'll kiss you," he assured her.

She gave him a half-horror/half-shocked look, her mouth agape. She closed her mouth, and put on her most competetive face. "Fine," she hummed, stretching where she stood, "I can do this," she nodded, and started to walk – stumbling, having to grab onto Rick's arms for support. "I can't do this."

"I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair, "You're drunk. Sleep this off, okay? Go to sleep, and when you wake up throwing up with a throbbing headache, I'll still be here to take care of you."

She gave him one last tempting look, but when she saw his will wasn't going to break, she eased a bit, relaxing with a shuddering sigh. "Okay," she agreed, crawling back up to the bed, "Will you come back to bed?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he said, hesitant. He wanted nothing more than to go back and cuddle with Kate Beckett, but knew _drunk _Kate isn't the same person.

"Oh, just get in here!" she insisted, patting the bed by her, "I promise I won't come on to you again," he took the bait, and curled into bed with her before sleep overcame the two of them.

Rick woke up to a terrible, familiar sound of his childhood. He sighed, threw his legs over the bed – Kate's bed – and walked to the bathroom. "Want me to hold your hair?" he asked the unrecognizable figure that was hunched over the toilet.

'That would be lovely," Kate moaned.

He came closer, and kneeled by her, gathered her hair and held it away from her face. Her body started shuddering and he turned his gaze to allow her to finish her buisness. "How are you feeling – apart from the vomit?"

"Peachy," she growled sarcastically, "Ouch," she rubbed two fingers against her temple, "There's a fracking storm going on in my head," she hissed, and started to get up, Rick dropped her hair and she flushed the toilet.

"Want me to make you some coffee?" he asked.

"Coffee doesn't sound very good right now," she whined, "Did I really just say that?"

He laughed softly, and she winced – the headache must have been terrible. "Sorry," he murmured, "I'm going to go make some eggs, coffee, orange juice, grab a banana –" she groaned at each item and he resisted the urge to laugh, "It will help kill your headache."

"How about some asprin while you're at it?" she hissed.

"No problem," and he was out her door, going to get said items. "Good morning, Jenny, Kevin, what are you guys up to?" he asked, grabbing the orange juice he had swigged from earlier out of the fridge. He pulled out some eggs and put them in a pan on the stove.

"Just getting ready for our morning jog," Jenny grinned cheerfully. Kevin gave a forced not-so-enthusiastic cheering sound and Jenny grabbed two portable bottles that looked like they contained poison in them.

"What's in the cup?" Rick asked. Kevin winced.

"Pretty sure it's avacodo, spinach, and something else," he said, giving him the 'don't-try-this-at-home-kids' vibe. "It's really, really," he looked like he wanted to say _gross, _but after one look at Jenny's hopeful expression, he said, "Yummy."

"Maybe I can make you one later, Rick," she grinned, and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, "We'll see you later!" she called, dragging Kevin out the door, and Rick laughed as he could hear the small woman yelling commands such as '_move it, slow poke!' _

Rick came back into Kate's room with all the items he promised, and she eyed them like they were spiders. "I honestly don't think I can eat anything," she told him, taking the asprin with the help of her orange juice.

"It's just two eggs and a banana. Please. It does help cure hangovers," he told her.

"And I know I should trust you with that type of information," she said, truthfully. After just one night with 'Drunk Martha' she knew that it wasn't Rick's first time with her. "Thank you," she said, and after a few bites of food, "I'm sorry."

His ears perked up at the two words Katherine Beckett rarely says, and his look was worthy for looking at someone who has the plague, "Sorry for what?" he asked, confused.

"For coming onto you last night," she said in a _'duh' _tone.

"Oh," he paused, "You remember. How much do you remember?"

"Rick. I was drunk – not comatose. I remember everything," she rolled her eyes at him, and started eating her banana, "I mean, really, this isn't One Life to Live – although you do look a bit like that Joey Buchanan kid."

"Maybe we're long lost cousins," he rolled his eyes – he got that all the time. "But, uh, you remember everything?" he stammered.

"Yes," she dragged out the word, "Come on, Rick, don't look like that. You have nothing to be ashamed of," she winked at him, and stuck her tongue out, "I love you, too."

**A/N: *puts on sunglasses like a badass* Okay. I had to. Don't shoot me. I **_**love **_**Soap Operas! Especially OLTL and GH! When I saw Nathan on Castle, I thought he looked familiar, and when I saw him on Firefly – it hit me, he played Joey! Joey the cutie-poo who is all smoochy with Kelly! *hearts* Anyways . . . The spam on my emails when I get reviews brings me utmost joy :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: 100 reviews. Wow. 0.0 ... ... ... Thank you. So much. This means the world to me. Fan-Fiction isn't a realm I was forced into because "I needed to continue this episode . . ." or something, I actually do enjoy writing, and my dream is to become an author. [Add-On: OMG some of the reviews you guys are writing – it wasn't even really a cliffhanger last chapter, lol]**

**Maybe that's why I always (hehehe, always *wink wink*) write mile-long A/Ns.**

**Disclaimer: I LOVE ONE DIRECTION OMFF SO SEXII (I don't own Castle).**

Rick choked on the air he was breathing, "Y-you," he cleared his throat, making all the wrinkles of confusion on his face clear, "You love me?"

She was the one who looked confused now, and ran a hand through his hair. She chuckled and rolled her eyes at him, "Of course I love you, Rick, you're my best friend," she hummed.

Oh. She wasn't getting the picture. _Kate, I love you _that _way! _He yearned to say. "Uh, oh, yeah," he forced a thousand-watt smile, wincing on the inside, "I'll be here for you, Kate. Always," he said, squeezing her hand gently.

"Always, huh?" she asked, he nodded, slightly nervous by the tone of her voice, "Always is a long time. It's forever," she emphasized. "You'll really love me, always?"

"'Til death do us part, and after that," he promised. She nodded, content with his answer, and her head fell back on her pillow – he was sitting on the edge of her bed now – "Are you going to sleep on me?" he whined.

"Yes," she sighed, "Shh, be quite, I have a hangover," she smirked slightly, still maintaining her relaxed state, "Now, go, go have fun. Take the boys out for some drinks," she said. He was getting up when she sat bolt-right, "Oh my God!" she shrieked, then winced, massaging her temples.

"What?" he panicked, crossing back over the room, kneeling by the bed to check and make sure she wasn't bleeding or dying or –

"Javi's plane leaves at noon! What time is it?" she looked around for her alarm clock, which was currently blinking 12:00, the default.

"It's only about eight-forty five in the morning," he assured her, "Kevin and Jenny just went for their eight-thirty run, and Javi and Lanie will be here at around ten, and then we're all going to the airport to say goodbye to him."

"Oh," she sighed, relaxing more, "In that case, I'll just take a nap," she nodded, lying back on the bed, her eyes slowly batting shut. Once again, her eyes snapped open, although she remained lying down, "Rick?"

"Yes?" he asked, spinning from his spot in the doorframe.

"Two things," she warned him, "First," she tried to regain her train of thought, "Oh, yeah, um, where were you going to go –or where are you going to go – since the boys are busy right now?"

"Uh," he paused, thinking about it, "I didn't really have a plan. Just head around town for an hour, we've only been here for a day, so I haven't seen the whole campus or any of the surroundings, except the fair," he put a hand to his face, which was still bruised and beaten from the fight.

"Second thing," she said, dragging out the words. She paused, unsure whether to continue or not, but after Rick's motioning for her to continue, she slurred the words out as fast as she could, "I'm sorry for kissing you last night."

Rick laughed, and even as Kate was wincing and groaning – her head still ached strongly – he couldn't find it in himself to stop. "Sorry?" he asked, and she frowned, curious to why he was laughing, "Please, don't be _sorry. _It was _very _mutual."

Kate seemed slightly surprised by this news, and slowly sat up in her bed, her wavy hair cascading down her shoulders, little tangles and knots in it. "Mutual? You pushed me away," he could barely hear the last part, she whispered the words bitterly.

"I pushed you away because you were drunk!" he scoffed, eyes widening.

"I wasn't drunk," she said, too fast – she felt stupid for saying it. No backing out of it now. "I was . . . encouraged to do things I can't do with a clouded mind."

He chuckled at her reasoning, "And alcohol clears your mind?"

"Yes," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She stood up – a little wobbly – and gave him a blatant once over. "Alcohol can work _miracles._"

"You think our kiss was a miracle?" he asked, needing the clarification as to what the hell she was saying.

"Well," she dropped one of her arms to her side, the other grabbing a water bottle she had by the bed and taking a guzzle from it, "It's not like you would have kissed me – because I am clearly friend-zoned with you, and I really needed to know what it was like to kiss you. I mean I've had these feelings for a few years and – why am I telling you this?"

He put a reassuring hand on her waist and she flinched as if his hand were a hot iron, "Go on," he whispered.

She looked at him incredulously, and they had a silent arguement until she finally felt pressured into speaking, "I have been crushing on you since – like, the ninth grade, Rick. Have you seriously not noticed?"

"Have you not noticed my 'crush' on you? I've wanted to date you for a _long time _now," Rick fired back, mentally noting the 'ninth grade' part with a smile.

"Then why haven't you asked me out?"

"You're my best friend!"

"So?"

"So," he paused, "So, I can't lose this. I don't have many other friends – you, Lanie, and Maddie are the only actual friends I have."

"What if we do work good together?" she asked in a whisper. "What if I would rather try to be _with _you, than to wonder 'if only' the rest of my life?"

Rick took her words in, digesting them, before he made the bold decison to cover her lips with his in a searing kiss.

**A/N: Omg, describing kisses is so awkward for me. Um. Uh. Anyways. S/O to Maddie Q in this chapter 3 She **_**will **_**be in this book – no matter what people say. Maddie is freaking amazing. Aaand, the 'if only' and 'always' in this chapter were really cheesy and cliche – but I rushed this chapter. Started at 6:40 finished at 6:52 because mom told me we're going to the store. Yuck. Anyways, drop me a line, byitches. (P.S., that's a compliment [Beautiful, Your-loss, Intelligent, Talented, Charismatic, and Hot])**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm back byitches! . . . Lol, I have a feeling if I ever had 'fans' they'd be called 'byitches'. Y'all so beautiful, never forget that 3**

**Anywhoo, it is so . . . amazing? Funny? Cute? Eh. It's so something that I get all these reviews like "Continue!" and "Update!" while I'm at my cousin's house, away from my laptop. I always feel a tad guilty too 0.0 Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Have you heard Story Of My Life by One Direction? If not, you should go check it out. It's good (to me). Oh. Disclaimer. Right. Um, I don't own Castle :3**

She was trapped in between him and the wall, and if the wall wasn't there, she might have collapsed. At first, she was unresponsive. She wasn't quite sure what was happening and then _oh my God, he's kissing me , again._

That's when Kate reacted, moving her hands up to his hair, her fingers knotting in the short brown tafts. She pulled his face closer to hers – their bodies as close as possible given the circumstances. He nipped her lip and a groan escaped her now parted lips.

She had her fingers on the top button of his shirt, and unhooked it, when there was a squeal that didn't come from either of them. "We'll just leave you two alone! Please, _please _don't stop because of us!" Lanie said, already shutting Kate's bedroom door that had been opened.

They froze, and Rick leaned back to look at her face. "Shit," she groaned. Her hair was out of place and her eyes were still darker than normal. "Shit, we need to go out there," she frowned, pulling away from Rick.

"You're probably right," he whispered, "Um," he went to redo his button but Kate's hands stopped him, and she buttoned it for him. "This wasn't a mistake, was it?"

"I don't think so," she gave him a shy smile, and he took her hand in his. He pressed one last, quick kiss to her lips, before they fixed their hair and went back out. "Lanie, we weren't –"

"Weren't what? Kissing?" she asked. Kate pursed her lips, realizing she had no clue what she intended to say, "Because Javi here will contest to you two playing tonsil tennis. Go back, go and have sex and then you can come back. We've been waiting for this for too long."

"Lanie!" Kate adomished, blush flooding her face. She ducked her head to hide her emotions, "We, um, erm," she was trying to think of something when Ryan and Jenny saved the day, entering the dorm, a little screen of sweat covering them.

"Wow, California is . . . _hot," _Kevin complained, using a hand to wipe his brow. "Hey guys. Kate, are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Well we walked in on Rick and Kate _making out,_" Javi chuckled, "I mean – the door was _open _and they were going _at it, _and –"

"Javier, if you finish that sentence, I will kill you," Kate warned. He laughed once, and was about to continue his story until Kate gave him a death glare.

"You guys kissed?" Jenny asked, looking between the two of them.

"Yes, we kissed, guys, now can we move on?" Rick panicked, "Javi, what do you want to do with your last few hours in America?"

Javier paused to think about it, "Well, my stuff is already in the van, so let's go to an arcade."

Kate's ears perked at that, and she jumped up, "Yes, yes let's do that now!" she declared, her headache already gone. "I'll get my shoes!"

Javi and Lanie shared a silent conversation, and Lanie sighed, "Kate is an expert at ski ball. She is going to whoop our asses at everything."

"Oh come on, I'll beat her at everything," he assured Lanie with a confident grin.

"I've beaten her at Pac Man. Once," Rick chimed in.

"Let's go," Kevin said as Kate came into the room.

The gang pulled up to the arcade, Javier put the car in park, and everyone got out. Kate was practically skipping to the arcade – a few steps ahead of everyone. They got in, bought some tokens, and picked a game they all could play.

"Whoever gets the most tickets wins," Javier explained. They stood infront of two single-player basketball games, one game took thirty seconds, and you got three tickets for every shot you could make in.

The first two people who went were Lanie and Jenny. They didn't make many in, but both ended up with more than ten tickets in the end. Next were Rick and Javier. Rick made six shots, and Javi had made seven.

When Kate and Kevin went up, Kate felt a nervous-excitement rush through her body. She ended up with seven shots, and it was Kevin who ended up with twelve. "Where did you learn to make baskets like that?" Kate asked him.

"Well, I went to an all boys' Catholic school," he revealed, "And when you're in a room, alone, with other guys your age, you use makeshift items to play sports. We used to have the tallest kid in class be the hoop, and we'd shoot rubber balls or crumpled bits of paper in his arms."

"That's a cool story," Rick said. "Next game should be Jackpot," he grinned.

Jackpot is a game where there are lights, many of them, in a circle. Only one is lit up – it goes so fast it looks like a snake, a few lights behind it looking lit – and you have to hit a button when you think the light is on Jackpot.

This one was a real money-sucker. Of course, no one is _bad _at the game, and they'd always get _right _by thier light, missing it by one or two spots, so you go with _'just one more'. _They ended up playing until Lanie finally hit the Jackpot.

"Woo hoo!" she cheered, everyone else was loud with excitement for her. The tickets slowly dispensed until all 147 tickets had came out, and they moved on to the next game.

"A shooting game?" Rick groaned, "Come on, Javi, that's not even _fair._"

**A/N: Short. Sweet. Filler. And I said 47. Nope. Don't regret it. **_**'That was stupid'. **_**Still don't regret it : Anyways, the Jackpot is from personal expierence. Granted, I hit Jackpot every other time, my reflexes are really sharp. But while I'm winning tickets galore, my friends are always playing 'just one more' game because they are always one off. Anyways. Whaddya think? :D**


End file.
